


Happy Ending

by AmandaRex



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: American Civil War, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2015-11-25
Packaged: 2018-05-03 06:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5280974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmandaRex/pseuds/AmandaRex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set just after Father's Day, the Doctor takes Rose on a trip to help her see that there are some stories that have a happy ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Ending

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written (in 2006? 2007?) for the Anywhere But Cardiff ficathon that took place on LJ. My time/place: American Civil War - anywhere in the then established states, 1861-1865.

As soon as they set down, the Doctor walked to the door and opened it, gesturing for Rose to walk through first.

"Where are we?" Rose asked, poking her head through the opening before going through.

"We're in America. Portsmouth, Virginia. 1861. American Civil War's just started, matter of fact," the Doctor said, announcing that they'd landed in the middle of a war with the nonchalance that someone else would use to announce that they were going out to the shops to pick up a few things.

"A war? You've taken us to a war?"

"Nah, I've taken us to Portsmouth. Just happens to be a war near here," the Doctor contradicted. "What do you know about this war, Rose?"

Rose cleared her throat self-consciously. She hadn't always paid attention in her classes and she hated whenever something like this came up. She expected some sort of roll of the eyes from the Doctor as the seconds ticked by, but he appeared to be patiently waiting for her to come up with an answer to his question, albeit with a bit of a raised eyebrow.

"Well," she began, stammering. "Not much, really, since Britain wasn't really involved. North against South, yeah?" she added uncertainly. "'Bout slavery, mostly."

"There's historians who would differ with you, especially on that bit about Britain not being involved, but I suppose those are the basics," the Doctor said, striding purposefully away in that maddeningly abrupt way he had. She wasn't sure whether she should feel dumb about the answer she gave or not.

"Britain didn't fight in their Civil War, did we?" she asked, trailing behind him at first, but soon catching up to walk next to him.

"Don't need to fight to be involved," he answered, and she was still wondering if she should ask him what he meant when he suddenly stopped walking, staring at a rustic-looking house across from them, nearly hidden behind a large tree.

"Take that, for example. Could just be a house. Could be nothing. Might be boring. Or it could be..."

"What? Adventure?" Rose finished, winking quickly at the Doctor and watching him smile back.

"I reckon they're in there," came a voice that seemed uncomfortably close by.

"Don't know how you're so sure, Henry, but I hope you're right," a second voice answered in an unpleasantly nasal drawl. "Sure could use the bounty."

The Doctor had moved closer to Rose as they eavesdropped, and had quietly maneuvered them to put a tree between the men and themselves. He stayed quite close behind her, his hands on her shoulders, and she honestly couldn't tell whether it was that or their unexpected company here in the woods that was making her heart beat faster.

"We'll wait for them to go in, then we'll move closer," the Doctor whispered against her ear, making her stammer out an unintelligible response.

They watched the two men, one of them with a shotgun strapped to his back, the other with a coil of rope hanging over one arm, move through the woods to the small house, and then bang violently on its door.

"Let us in," the man that the other had called Henry bellowed, barely audible over the sound of his hand whacking into the rough-hewn wooden door. "We know you got 'em, and we're here to take 'em back to where they rightly belong!"

The door opened to reveal a small, unassuming-looking woman holding some needlework in her right hand and smiling at the men as though they were expected for dinner.

"I'm very sorry, gentlemen," she said, "but I don't have any idea what y'all are talking about."

"Out of the way, woman," Henry continued, putting out a large, beefy arm to shove her to the side before his companion stopped him.

"Ma'am, I'm William," he began, "and this is my partner, Henry."

"Mary Darville," she said, ducking her head into a small curtsy as she introduced herself.

"Now ol' Henry here is a mite excited, ma'am, and I reckon he's jumped the gun. What he meant to ask you is if y'all had anything to do with helping the property of law-abidin' southern landowners escape, but I'm sure you wouldn't do that, now would you?"

The woman in the doorway laughed a little, covering her mouth with her hand as though she was afraid it was impolite to let the men see her teeth as she did. "Why, my own daddy's farm depends on that sort of labor. I'd never do such a thing."

Henry looked frustrated with William's more gentle form of persuasion, but remained silent after a single glance from his partner.

"Ma'am, we hope you don't mind, and just for your protection, you understand, if we have a look around? There's an escaped slave in these parts, and I'd never forgive myself if you were being held here against your will by that animal."

"'Course I don't mind," the woman answered, holding the door open wide. "I'd be glad to help out hard-working men like yourselves. I'll make you fellas something to drink, if you like. Uncommonly warm weather we're having, isn't it?"

"Yes it is, ma'am. Yes it is, at that," William said, ushering Henry through the doorway. The door shut behind them, cutting Rose and the Doctor off from the woman and her two untimely visitors.

Rose whirled around to look at the Doctor, marveling for a moment at how he and his long black leather jacket seemed to blend into the surroundings wherever he went, even here in the woods.

"Want to know what's going on?" he asked, his voice mild but his face set into a stony, almost troubled expression.

"Those men...what are they after?"

"Who are they after, you mean. They're after an escaped slave, and that woman is hiding him."

"That's the underground...what-d'you-call-it, yeah?"

"Underground Railroad. That woman's house is a safe haven."

"So when do we go in there and help her?" Rose asked, picturing that one tiny woman trying to stand up to those two thugs on her own.

"Now," he said, grinning at her. "Follow my lead, all right?"

"Right," she said, a bit annoyed with him for thinking she'd do anything other than that.

He led her to the door and, to her surprise, instead of knocking, he simply turned the doorknob and walked directly into the house.

"Mary, I—ah," the Doctor said, pretending to be surprised to find her with company. "Didn't know you were expecting anyone."

Rose could see a moment of shock on Mary's face, but she quickly covered it and played along.

"Dr. Smith," the Doctor said, striding quickly across the room and holding out his hand to William, who had to adjust the coil of rope on his arm before he could properly shake the Doctor's hand. "This is my associate, Rose."

William and Henry both eyed Rose suspiciously, and it took only a second for Rose to realize how odd her clothing must look to them.

"You a limey?" Henry asked, narrowing his eyes at them as they flicked back and forth between them.

"Dr. Smith is a second cousin of my late husband's," Mary said, quickly interrupting them. "He's here with a shipment to our boys in the army. If it wasn't for them, I'm sure y'all know we'd have long since run out of what the boys need to fight the Yankees."

"Gun runner, huh?" William said, following Mary's cryptic words to the conclusion she meant for them to come to. "Can't say I'm too fond of anyone else butting their nose into our business, but if you're here with more guns, I'll say y'all can't be too bad."

"Is there something we can help you with?" the Doctor said, the friendly air he'd adopted when they came in falling away a bit. "It's just that we're expecting one of Magruder's men, and I think he'd be surprised to find other guests here."

"We'll get on out of your way, o'course," William said. "Don't think anyone who would aid the army would help run a slave, do you, Henry?"

"S'pose not," Henry answered, sighing heavily. "We'll have to keep looking. Don't want John Hill taking our bounty again."

"Be careful out there, fellas," Mary said, bowing to them again a bit as the Doctor ushered them casually toward the door.

As they left, Mary pulled the curtains away from the single front window and waved cheerfully at them as they stomped away, her hand still moving long after the men had disappeared from sight. It was only once she seemed satisfied that they'd really gone that she let the fabric drop back to the glass and then let her shoulders slump in an unmistakable sign of relief.

Rose went to her and helped her sit in a nearby chair, and Mary shielded her face with her hand, which was shaking delicately against her forehead and betraying exactly how worried she'd been.

"Thank you," she said, her voice small and tired-sounding. "Who sent you? One of the other stations?"

"Yeah," the Doctor said, dismissively. "They heard there might be bounty hunters about. You'll be fine now."

"Can't thank either of you enough. That William seemed friendly on the outside, but he and his large friend would have torn my house apart looking for him."

"Can we talk to the passenger, make sure he's ready for the trip?" the Doctor asked.

"Certainly," Mary said, leading them to a small room at the back of the house. She walked to the closet and reached back into the deepest part of it. There was a click and the false back came open, revealing a large, frightened-looking man in tattered clothing.

"Everything's all right," Mary told him, leading him out to let him sit on the edge of a small bed in the main part of the room. "Don't think they'll bother us here again. I'll get you something to eat."

The man raised his eyes to Mary at last, a look of such gratitude on his face that Rose sat next to him and patted him on the back before she'd thought twice about it.

"You'll be fine now," Rose reassured him. "There are people to help you. We won't let anything happen to you. Will we, Doctor?" she asked, wanting the confirmation for herself as much as for the man she was trying to comfort.

"He'll be fine. Lots of people working to get him all the way to Canada," the Doctor answered.

"What's your name?" Rose asked, casting about for a way to get the man talking, to make him more comfortable.

"Josiah Parker, ma'am," he said, his deep voice nearly breaking as he spoke.

"You don't have to call me ma'am. I'm just Rose, and this is the Doctor. We're going to help you."

"Thank you," he said, seeming relieved, but yet sad at the same time.

"There's no need to be worried. You'll be fine," Rose told him.

"I do b'lieve you, Miss Rose. Just..." he began, his voice trailing off as he shut his eyes tight.

"You'll be fine," Rose repeated, patting the man's large shoulders to reinforce her words.

"It's my wife," the man continued. "And my son."

"What, they didn't come with you?" Rose said, jumping quickly to her feet. The man's slow shake of his head was her only answer. "Well, we'll just go and get them."

"You can't do that, ma'am," Josiah said. "They'll be watchin' them, you see."

"We can't take you away from them," Rose said, panic rising in her at the idea of this quiet, gentle man being separated from his family. She whirled around to face the Doctor. "We can't let this happen."

"This is how it happens," the Doctor said, his voice calm and patient. He put his hands on Rose's shoulders and moved them out of the way, leaning over to talk directly to Josiah. "Do they have enough money to get them out?"

"Yes," Josiah answered. "They told me they'll be bought soon as I get up north."

"Bought?" Rose asked, wishing the Doctor would just explain why they shouldn't go and find this man's family and reunite them.

"It's the way it's done. They get one of them out, whoever's the fittest one to make the journey, and then the rest of the family is bought out of slavery. They'll be reunited as soon as Josiah here is across the border and safe. The plantation owners will probably be relieved to get some of their money. They'll be waiting for the offer, if they're smart."

"That's terrible!" Rose told him. "It's inhuman!"

"No, Rose, the slavery is inhuman, and this is how they get out." The Doctor pulled her away from Josiah so he couldn't hear them. "One hundred thousand people got out that way, Rose. People like Mary, that's what they helped to accomplish, and we're here to see it. We shouldn't interfere with them. They're doing just fine."

"They're separating a man from his wife and son!" Rose said, her breaths coming harder as she felt herself fighting not to cry.

"Right, if that's what you think, then there's something I've got to show you," the Doctor told her, taking her firmly by the hand and pulling her away, but he stopped for a moment and looked back at the man sitting on the edge of the bed. "Good luck, Josiah. Trust Mary. She'll make sure you're all right."

"Yes, sir," Josiah said, and Rose turned to get one more look of the strong, broken-looking man before the Doctor led her away.

"Mary Darville," the Doctor said, smiling widely at her as she carried a plate of food toward them, and she smiled back.

"I can't thank you enough, either of you," Mary said. "I'm so glad the last station sent you along." She narrowed her eyes a little, looking thoughtfully at the Doctor. "Have we met before? You seem really familiar."

"Nope, sorry. Just sent to help, but we've got to be going now," the Doctor said. "Take care of yourself. Watch out for the Henrys and Williams of the world, yeah?"

"And you," Mary answered, laughing lightly as she walked them to the door. She waved to them through the window in a much more friendly way than she'd done for the two bounty hunters. Rose waved back, convinced that the Doctor had met Mary Darville before, even if he had some reason to conceal that from her.

He led them back to the TARDIS, sitting Rose in the jump seat before setting his ship into motion, pulling levers and turning dials with a concentrated precision. They came to a rest long before Rose could begin to guess where they'd gone.

The Doctor gestured at the doors, for her to lead them out and see what was on the other side. She did, blinking against the bright sunlight and pulling her hoodie around herself more closely against the chill in the air.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking around at the large expanse of grass they were standing on, surrounded on all sides by brick buildings covered in climbing ivy.

"University of Toronto," the Doctor said, stopping there as though he'd just explained everything.

"What's that got to do with Josiah Parker?" she asked, and the Doctor just pointed at a tall boy standing with a group of people near one of the buildings. He looked a little like Mickey, actually, and Rose felt yet another quick jolt of guilt that she'd left Mickey behind to travel with the Doctor.

"That, Rose, is Michael Josiah Parker. Direct descendant of the man you just met, and his namesake. He'll be a brilliant historian, that one, one of the leaders in his field in about twenty years."

"So Josiah made it?"

"Told you he would," the Doctor said, looking hurt that Rose would ever doubt anything he'd said. "They got his wife and son out too, and they settled not too far from here, in Canada. They had a son, who had a son, who had a son, who had a son, who had a son, who had a son, who had a son, and there he is!" The Doctor had counted the generations out on his fingers until he reached the last one, then he waved, grinning like an idiot at her.

Rose let the relief wash over her and she laughed a little, relishing the feeling. She tried to reconcile the worried, torn-apart man she'd been consoling just moments ago with the confident, joking boy across the lawn from them, and she shook her head with the disorientation of it.

"Some people get the happy ending," Rose said, more to herself than the Doctor. "That's what you wanted me to see, isn't it?"

"I want you to see it all, Rose," the Doctor said, taking her hand as they stood next to each other there on the grass, watching as the students threaded their way around them.


End file.
